Life in medieval England · KS3 History

The feudal system and village life

Most people were peasants. Villeins had to work on their lord's land and couldn't leave the village without permission.
Villages farmed strips of land in large open fields. Houses were often made of wattle and daub, with a thatched roof.

The Church was very powerful. People believed it could decide whether they went to heaven or hell, so they went to services, prayed and went on pilgrimages.
Everyone paid a tithe: a tenth of what they produced. Monasteries ran schools and hospitals.
In 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral after quarrelling with King Henry II.

In 1215, King John's barons forced him to agree to Magna Carta. It limited the king's power, and said free men had the right to a fair trial.
Medicine was based on the four humours: doctors thought illness came from an imbalance, and used bleeding to treat it.

The Black Death reached England in 1348. It was bubonic plague, spread mainly by fleas on rats. About a third to a half of the population died.
With fewer workers, peasants demanded higher wages. The Statute of Labourers (1351) tried to keep wages low.
In 1381, a poll tax sparked the Peasants' Revolt, led by Wat Tyler and the preacher John Ball. The rebels met the 14-year-old King Richard II; Tyler was killed, and the king's promises were broken.

Villein: A peasant who had to work for their lord and couldn't leave the village.
Tithe: A tenth of a person's produce or income, given to the Church.
Pilgrimage: A journey to a holy place.
Magna Carta: A charter of 1215 that limited the king's power.
Four humours: The medieval belief that illness came from an imbalance of four body fluids.
Black Death: The plague that killed a huge part of the population from 1348.
Statute of Labourers: A law of 1351 that tried to keep wages low.
Poll tax: A tax that everyone paid, whatever they earned.
Peasants' Revolt: The rising of 1381 against the poll tax and low wages.